Situation: An old woman was brought for evaluation due to the hospital for evaluation due to increasing forgetfulness and limitations in daily function. The daughter revealed that the client used her toothbrush to comb her hair. She is manifesting:
A. Apraxia
B. Aphasia
C. Agnosia
D. Amnesia
Correct Answer: C. Agnosia
This is the inability to recognize objects. Agnosia is a rare disorder whereby a patient is unable to recognize and identify objects, persons, or sounds using one or more of their senses despite otherwise normally functioning senses. The deficit cannot be explained by memory, attention, language problems, or unfamiliarity to the stimuli. Usually, one of the sensory modalities is affected.
Option A: Apraxia is the inability to execute motor activities despite intact comprehension. Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to perform learned (familiar) movements on command, even though the command is understood and there is a willingness to perform the movement. Both the desire and the capacity to move are present but the person simply cannot execute the act.
Option B: Aphasia is the loss of ability to use or understand words. Aphasia is an impairment to comprehension or formulation of language caused by damage to the cortical center for language. It can be caused by many different brain diseases and disorders; however, cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is the most common reason for a person to develop aphasia. The symptoms of aphasia can range from mild impairment to complete loss of any fundamental components of language such as semantic, grammar, phonology, morphology, and syntax.
Option D: Amnesia is the loss of memory. Amnesia is a dramatic form of memory loss. If you have amnesia you may be unable to recall past information (retrograde amnesia) and/or hold onto new information (anterograde amnesia). Amnesia, in the Greek language, means “forgetfulness.”